


One Minute Of  Your Time

by Awendela



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Colleagues - Freeform, Experimental Potions, F/M, Locked In, Ministry of Magic, One True Pairing, Post Hogwarts AU, Romance, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-08-21 21:42:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8261336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awendela/pseuds/Awendela
Summary: Hermione and Snape get locked in their Ministry lab for one night and how do they spend their night? By trying experimental potions of course!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I'm back with a new story. It came to me while I was stuck inside for basically six days during Hurricane Matthew and we had no power so there was not much else to do but write. I am thinking of making this into a three part series. Let me know what you think.
> 
> Disclaimer: I make no profit from this work. All characters belong to JK Rowling. I just like to borrow them from time to time.

It could not have happened on a worse night. They had been working in the lab for nearly 48 hours straight. They were so close to a cure he could almost taste it. Their work had been so promising as of late; all that was left to be done was add some mandrake root and they would be done. He had plans to celebrate with Lucius at a pub in London that night but it looked like that was clearly not going to happen. The bloody door wouldn’t move. It was locked and shut tight. It didn’t make any logical sense since the door was supposed to lock from the inside, not the outside.

“Severus, it something wrong?” His colleague asked from somewhere behind him. He assumed she was packing up their supplies they had used that day.

“It appears the door has managed to lock itself from the outside.” He replied.

“But that’s not possible. It locks from the inside.” She replied without thinking.

“Thank you for that trivial piece of knowledge Miss Granger. I know the door is supposed to lock from the inside. I’m telling you it is not however.” He replied testily.

Hermione frowned. “Don’t get snarky with me. I didn’t lock the door.” She stated as she came up next to him. “Here, move out of the way and let me try.”

Snape made a grand gesture of stepping aside and Hermione sighed. He was clearly in one of those moods. They had both been working in the Ministry for about five years as Potion Masters. The first year Hermione had been his apprentice but quickly graduated and took her rightful place besides him. In those five years she had come to realize the many sides of Severus Snape and learned to see past his outward surly nature. It was probably no small part of him letting her see past his walls but still it counted. Hermione was extremely thankful for that, she counted him amongst her closest friends and relied on him just as much as he did her. 

“Have you had any success yet Miss Granger?” He asked from his position on one of their work benches.

“No, but you already knew that.” She sighed as she stood up and took a seat near him. Severus merely smirked. It was so easy to get under her skin.

Hermione saw the smirk and started to get frustrated. “It’s not as if I want to spend my night here with you either, no need to be an arse.”

Severus said nothing. He had never said he didn’t want to spend the night with her. In fact, the opposite was true but he would never tell her that. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe she would ever see anything in him.

“Shouldn’t we alert someone that we are here?” Hermione asked.

“It is almost midnight. No one else is here but if you would like to try, be my guest. Our best hope is just to wait until the first workers start to arrive around eight in the morning.” Snape explained.

Hermione knew he was right but she couldn’t just sit back and wait; she had to try something. She sent her patronus out of the lab to the Minister’s office, hoping someone would see it and come find them.

She regretted what she had said to Severus earlier about not wanting to spend time with him. She actually liked the time they spent together. They were very similar in both intellectual pursuits and personality. He didn’t mind spending a quiet night in with a good book and a glass of wine. They could discuss potions for hours on such nights. 

It was this that led her to have feelings for her colleague, really strong feelings actually. She hoped he would never discover those feelings. Hermione knew he would never see anything in her. She had been his student for seven years, he probably still saw her as a small, annoying first year.

It was all for the best though. She loved their work relationship and wouldn’t want anything to change it. She had first hand experience on how scorned feelings could destroy a friendship.

“Well, what do you suppose we should do to pass the time?” Hermione asked suddenly. They couldn’t sit in silence for eight hours, that was crazy.

Severus knew of a couple things he would like to do with her during the night but those were merely fantasies. He suddenly had an idea. “I guess now is as good a time as ever.” He mumbled.

“What?” Hermione asked confused.

“I have been working on a special contract potion for an outside benefactor, all perfectly legal of course. I believe I finally gotten the potion correct but have yet to find a time to run a trial. Now seems like a perfect time seeing as I have to document the results.” Snape explained.  
“Who and what exactly is this mystery potion for?” Hermione asked. She was quite taken aback that he had not decided to include her on this work.

Snape smirked. “Who, I am not allowed to say, a very wealthy private investor. As to what it is, well that’s an even bigger secret. I was going to share it will you once I had completed a successful trial but haven’t gotten around to it.”

Hermione smiled. She loved being able to experience Severus’ experiments. Most were incredible; challenging what they knew about potions or making existing ones even better. “Am I to be the first volunteer?”

“If you would like.” Snape said as he went to the cabinet in the corner to grab a sample.

“As if you don’t know.” She said smirking. She knew he enjoyed testing products with her. “What exactly is this one?”

“I don’t have a name for it yet. I’m leaving that up to the contractor. It was all his idea, he just needed someone who had the ability to brew it for him. If the potion works correctly it will give you a sixty second glance into your darkest fantasies, what you desire the most.” Snape explained.

“Only sixty seconds?” She couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m positive it will feel longer than that to the person taking the potion but yes, only sixty seconds.” Snape explained. “It’s not designed to let your see the entire fantasy. It only gives you a taste.”

Hermione considered this for a moment. What harm could it do? Severus couldn’t actually see her fantasies, it would only be here and it only lasted a minute. “Alright, hand it over. Let me try.” She said reaching for the small bottle he was holding. It didn’t look or smell that bad. ‘Well here goes nothing’ she thought as she drank the potion.

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Nothing happened at first or so she thought. Severus stood in front of her like he was before but something had changed about his demeanor that she couldn’t quite place.

“So Miss Granger, anything you would like to note about the potion so far?” He asked.

Hermione frowned. “Nothing I can notice so far.”

Snape took a few steps closer until he was right next to her. “Are you so sure about that?” He whispered into her ear.

Hermione couldn’t breathe. Was this the potion or real life? “I don’t know.” She mumbled out just as his lips descended on her neck. She closed her eyes. It felt amazing.

She could feel him smirk against her neck. “Come now Miss Granger, surely there has been some change.” He continued as his hands soon found their way underneath her blouse and started working their way up.

Hermione couldn’t believe it could get any better until his lips met hers in a demanding kiss. She immediately reacted by throwing her arms around his neck like they had done this a million times before. He slowly started to lay her back down against the work bench she had been sitting on. He dominated her from above, covering every inch of her with his body. Merlin it felt amazing to finally have this man above her. She closed her eyes and his hands started to make their way slowly down her body. The anticipation was killing her, she tried to open her eyes but all she saw was dark. Dark? That couldn’t be right.

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“Hermione.” He said, his voice sounded distant.

“Yes?” She replied dreamily.

“Wake up.” He replied bluntly.

Hermione’s eyes shot open. She was still sitting in the same spot she had been when she first took the potion. Severus was standing in the exact same spot as before. No, that couldn’t be right.

Judging by your expression I would say the potion is a success?” He asked.

Hermione nodded. “More than you know.”

“Care to elaborate?” He asked. He was intrigued, he didn’t think he made the potion that strong.

Hermione smirked. “I think this is something you need to experience.”

Severus was shocked. That was an unusual answer from her. Could it really be that good? “If you insist.”

“Oh, I do.” She said as she handed him the second bottle of the sample then switched places with him.

Severus merely raised his eyebrow at her and downed the potion. He was ready for whatever came his way.

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A/N: Hope you liked it! Like I said earlier I am thinking about making this into a three part series. Let me know what you think of that idea and it will happen.

~A


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here is part two. Enjoy! Thanks everyone for being patient while it took me forever to update!
> 
> One Minute of My Time

Hermione stood there looking at him expectantly and he felt bad for disappointing her. The potion did absolutely nothing for him. He looked at the bottle, did he somehow contaminate it? Both of their potions had come from the same batch and looked exactly the same, so why did he not react the way she had?

"Hermione," He started.

"Just wait." She interrupted. "It takes a while."

Severus frowned. He didn't know what could be taking so long. When he observed Hermione taking the potion, the effects were almost immediate. She was talking to him one minute about what she was experiencing and then suddenly trailed off with a somewhat blank stare. At first he had been extremely concerned something had gone wrong but then realized it must have been the potion. Ever so slowly her eyes closed and her mouth had dropped open slightly. The sight of her stirred up those annoying feelings he had. He desperately wanted to know what she was experiencing. He had called out to her and Hermione gasped as she came back to her senses. He wondered what the potion would cause him to see.

"Do you feel any different yet Severus?" Hermione asked as she came to sit beside him. He did not respond to her. He was thoroughly disappointed. Clearly the potion was defective. But then why had it worked on Hermione?

The witch put her hand on his knee and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He looked at her but she merely smiled. "It will be fine Severus. I'm sure it's just taking a little longer, things like this sometimes take time."

He had no idea what she meant by that. Why was she acting strangely, could the potion still be affecting her actions? She had just come out of her fantasy, did the potion have a latent effect? His thoughts soon vanished when Hermione placed her lips against his. He instinctively pushed her away.

"What in the name of Merlin are you doing witch?" He snapped.

Hermione smirked. "Showing you that it will all work out."

She instantly kissed him again and this time Severus let her. When he didn't push her away like last time, Hermione deepened the kiss and swung one leg around to straddle his lap. He hands came up to hold her in place. Gods, he could kiss her forever. Their lips clashed together in a vicious battle; neither one willing to surrender to the other. He always imagined it would be this way. They were both fiercely stubborn people, there was no reason to believe they would come together quietly. There was always going to be fire and passion between them. Severus moved to lay her down on the bench beneath him and she took this opportunity to run her hands through his hair. His lips moved from her lips to create a path down to her collarbone. Nipping and kissing every inch of skin he could. She tasted divine. Her hands had left his hair and now proceeded to unbutton his black work shirt. She moaned into his ear when she finally splayed her hands across his chest. Severus closed his eyes at the feeling of her deft little fingers running through his chest hairs. If this was only a one-time thing he wanted to remember every detail.

When he opened his eyes again everything was dark. What in the hell was going on? They had over thirty candles lit in the laboratory while they worked. There was no way all of them could have suddenly gone out. In that instant he realized he couldn't feel Hermione near him any longer. Was this all some strange game she was playing with him? He thought he knew her better than that.

"Severus is everything alright?" He heard Hermione ask from far away.

"Hermione?" He called out. Everything around him was still dark.

"Severus, you're okay!" She exclaimed as she pulled him upright and suddenly everything came back into focus. He looked around and found himself once again in the lab. He was still seated on the wooden work bench, Hermione stood before him, much like she had been before he had taken the potion. The candles were still lit around the room. He looked at her face, confused. Hadn't he just been snogging her senseless? Hadn't her hands just been trailing a delicious line down his chest? Yet, she now stood in front of him looking definitely not snogged.

Hermione smirked. "I take it your experience was good? If it was anything like mine, it definitely was something to remember."

Severus cleared his throat. "Yes. It was interesting to say the least." He stated simply. He quickly got up from the bench and went to the furthest corner of the lab. He needed to put some distance between them immediately, before he did something he would regret.

That fantasy had been so real. The feel of her fingers on his chest, her lips against his. Nothing was going to stop them from going all the way, until he woke up. When he created the potion he had no idea it would work like that. He never thought it would take your present reality and transform it into a fantasy. He never intended for it to mess with people's minds like that. The fantasy was supposed to clearly be a fantasy, not simply a twist on reality. He would definitely need to figure out exactly where he went wrong and fix it before presenting it his employer. But knowing who is employer was, they would probably prefer this version.

"Severus, what's wrong?" Hermione asked. She had let him walk away and brood in the corner of the laboratory for a while. Clearly, whatever he had seen in his fantasy upset him deeply. He looked as if he had enjoyed it though. She couldn't understand how her fantasy had been so amazing while his wasn't…or maybe it was just as good for him and he just wasn't willing to accept it. Hermione wanted to know exactly what he had seen.

"Nothing, unfortunately I fear I have made some slight miscalculations with the potion." He said with a somewhat strained voice. "If you don't mind, I will spend the rest of the time we are trapped in this awful situation working on a remedy." He said, dismissing her without another word as he sat down at the furthest work station from her.

Hermione frowned. What had happened? Severus had not been this cold to her in a long while, not since the first few months that had been working together. Ignoring his mood she went to the cauldron containing the old potion and filled a few glass containers with the potion. It might have been terrible for him but for her it was the best minute she had ever experienced.

They worked in silence for a few more hours before they were rescued by none other than Lucius Malfoy. After Severus had stood him up at the pub, he came to the ministry to find him. Finding the place mostly deserted he traveled down the dungeon laboratories to find all of them open, except for one. It seemed an errant sticking charm had hit the door's lock in such a way that it refused to budge. He simply reversed the charm and strolled in. He actually laughed at the startled looks on the potioneers faces. Clearly something had occurred between his old friend and Miss Granger. The tension in the room was nearly unbearable. Oh well, Severus would never learn. He just hoped his old friend hadn't ruined whatever chance he had with the young women he was clearly so enamored with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it. Part Three is coming!
> 
> ~A


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the third installment of One Minute is here. Enjoy!

Snape had not been back to work in over a week now, nine days exactly, not including weekends. Hermione had not seen him since that fateful night when they had gotten trapped together in the laboratory. They still had not found the culprit who had unknowingly locked them in but the search was still in progress. While they both agreed it wasn’t intentional, Snape still thought it was a little too convenient that their laboratory was the only one targeted that night. Thankfully, they had a knight in shining armor arrive to rescue them before too long. Lucius had escorted the both of them out of the ministry, keeping surprisingly pleasant conversation with the both of them. Unfortunately, however, Severus had refused to even look in her general direction. Hermione had no idea what she had done wrong.

They had each taken their bottle of the potion to test, the bottles were identical. The potion was supposed to create a fantasy and Hermione’s had been just that, a wonderful, thrilling, fantasy. One that she desperately wanted to recreate in real life. The same could not be said for Snape. He had acted almost violently when he ‘awoke’ out of his fantasy. Whatever he saw clearly disgusted him and it must have involved her. What other reason would he have for avoiding her for the last week?

Hermione sighed out loud as she looked at the clock. Another work day gone and still no signs of her missing partner. While she was worried about him, she knew their department head would have sent her a memo if something awful had happened. Instead she just waited for him to show back up. She quickly disapparated back to her flat and put a kettle on. Tonight seemed like it was going to be another quiet night alone. 

Before the ‘incident’, as Hermione dubbed it in her head, Severus would often come over once a week or so to discuss whatever experiment they were working on at the time or the latest potions journal article. It had only been a week and she already missed his presence. Who would have ever though that Severus Snape would become such a central figure in her life? If he didn’t want to continue meeting her after work she would understand. She just hoped her would return to work soon enough.

Unfortunately for Hermione this was not the case. Another week crept by without a word from Severus. This time she did speak with her department head only to have her concerns brushed off. He simply told her Snape’s time had been requested by his benefactor and he would return once the contract was complete, and no she would not be given in assistant in his absence. She would just have to work a little harder to complete the potions they both had been working on before Snape left. Needless to say, her meeting with the department head had not gone well. In fact, it just made her angry. How dare Severus just leave with no explanation? They were partners and that is not what partners did. So without a second thought she disapparated to Spinner’s End.

Hermione hadn’t exactly thought through what she would say when she confronted Snape. Sure, she had a lot to say but would it really be better for their friendship for her to say all of it? She looked up at the old house with its overgrown vines and broken shutters, no wonder he spent a majority of time at the Ministry. Was Severus even here? She slowly walked up to the front porch, careful not to trip or fall through any of the missing wooden boards. She knocked on the door and waited. If he wasn’t here she was going to feel foolish for apparating here for no reason. She raised a hand to knock again when the door was flung open by a rather angry looking Severus Snape.

“Miss Granger,” He drawled. “How did I know I would eventually be seeing you on my doorstep.”

The tone in which he addressed her brought back all of the anger from before. “You left. For over two weeks now. You left without a word, a letter, hell even a howler, nothing. How dare you!” Hermione demanded angrily. 

Severus at least looked a little chastised. “I’m sure department head Skinner relayed the information to you but I’ll repeat it once again. I have taken a leave of absence from the Ministry to work exclusively with the benefactor for the fantasy potion. After our incident in the laboratory I wrote to him informing him that it would be best to conduct any further trials in an isolated area.”

“So that’s it? You just leave when it’s convenient for you. How hard would it have been to write me a short letter explaining all that? I’ve been working on my own since you left, wondering every day where you were. I thought we were partners Severus but partners don’t just abandon each other. Clearly I overestimated our relationship.” She said; his explanation doing little to quell her anger.

Neither of them spoke for a minute, both hoping the other would break the tension first. Hermione was caught off guard when Snape broke first.

“I am sorry Hermione,” He paused, startling himself by using her first name. “I left instructions for department head Skinner to pass along the information to you. Clearly he can’t even follow the simplest instructions. It’s a wonder how he came to be in charge of the experimental potions department.” He paused again. “I do consider you my partner.”

Hermione was stunned to find him willing to apologize but couldn’t let that deter her. She had come here to get answers. “What happened that night Severus?”

Snape sighed. He knew this was the real reason she had come to his home and he knew very well she would not be leaving without an answer. “Why don’t you come inside, we’ve already given my neighbors enough of a show.” He said simply as he turned and walked back into the house. Hermione paused for a moment before following him in.

Once inside Hermione was pleased to see the interior of the old house had been renovated recently. New light fixtures hung overhead giving the room a bright, almost welcoming feeling. Neutral colors and new furniture adorned the walls and floors. This was a place she could see Severus living in; but why had he not done any updates to the exterior of the house. Did he want people to think he lived in a rundown hovel, why?

“What did you see Severus?” She asked again once they were inside. “It could not have been that bad or that disgusting that you could justify leaving me alone for two weeks. It wasn’t even real Severus!” She ranted.

“That’s the problem.” He said quietly.

“Wait, what?” Hermione asked. That was definitely not what she was expecting.

“That’s the problem. What I saw could never be real. The potion is a cruel mistress. I regret ever agreeing to create it. It gives you a taste of something you can never have.” Snape explained as he went to his liquor cabinet, grabbed a bottle of fire whiskey and a tumbler and poured himself a generous glass.

Hermione couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How could she have gotten the situation so wrong? “Who says you can’t have it? I mean no one is stopping you.”

Snape merely gave her a shallow laugh in response.

“Severus, I’m being serious. We both know the potion shows you what your greatest fantasy is. It’s up to you to make it become a reality but only if you want! It’s supposed to be a fun experience, something to fuel the rest of your fantasies.” She said. Why was she pushing him so hard on this? She had no idea who or what was in his fantasy.

Snape huffed. “That’s easy for a Gryffindor know-it-all to say. I like the current status of the relationship I have with the person and have come to the realization that it isn’t worth losing that for a fantasy.” He said in an exasperated tone.

Hermione remained silent. She knew where he was coming from. They had worked together long enough got her not to take offense at his Gryffindor comment. What she was not used to was his new attitude. Not since before the war had she seen him so withdrawn and downtrodden. He usually pursued every new obstacle with a passion she had not seen before. So why was he giving up on this? Well she was just going to have to change that. It was her turn to take the lead in their relationship.

“I understand that Severus, but what if you discovered that the person of your fantasy felt the same way as you do? Would it be worth the risk then?” Hermione asked, taking a few steps closer to him.

He watched her closely, as if trying to decipher exactly what she was up to. “Possibly.”

That was as close to a ‘yes’ as Hermione was going to get so she went with it. Without another word, she leaned up and placed a quick, chaste kiss upon his lips. She backed away immediately afterwards, before he could push her away. They both stood there in his living room, staring at each other for what seemed like forever. Hermione was starting to regret kissing him when Snape took two steps forward, closing the distance between them, and capturing her lips in a deep kiss. His kiss was so much more than hers had been. It was deep, full of passion, and everything she had ever hoped a kiss to be.

Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. She gasped when he turned them around and lifted her onto the granite counter behind them. Hermione instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, locking him in place. When Severus pulled back slightly, Hermione knew he was panicking. Stupid man. “Hermione, I think we need to talk about this.” He said breathlessly as she moved to kiss his neck right below his ear.

“No, we really don’t.” She replied as she continued to kiss and lick a trail down his neck to his collarbone. He really had too many layers on. “We can talk afterwards. We both want this so please just enjoy it with me.” She nearly begged.

That was all the confirmations he needed as he kissed her hard on the lips again. This time there would be no misconceptions between them. They continued to tease each other, slowly removing various articles of clothing as they went. It wasn’t the fast quickie Hermione thought it would be. Instead they took their time, enjoying the sensations between them. It didn’t take them long to move from the counter in the kitchen to his bedrooms. Hermione found herself being laid down on dark green and silver silk sheets. Definitely not what she had expected from him. Before she had a moment look around the rest of the room Severus climbed on top of her, placing a knee between her thighs and resting his hands on either side of her head. He leaned down and captured her lips in another kiss. Her arms came to circle around his back, her fingers and nails gripping into him. She was already wet and they hadn’t even done anything yet but judging by the hard length resting against her stomach she wasn’t the only one affected. 

Severus slowly kissed his way down her jaw to her neck and finally to the valley between her breasts. He took one of her nipples into his mouth, biting it gently; making her wither below him. One of his hands fondled the other as to not leave it neglected. After a few more teasing moments he switched to the other and repeated his actions, driving Hermione crazy. Before long he continued his journey lower until she felt him press a few chaste kisses on the inside of her thighs. So close and yet so far from where she truly wanted him. Almost as if he could hear her thoughts, he placed a hard kiss right on her most intimate area. Without giving her a minute to enjoy the sensation to the kiss, he pushed his tongue into her folds and started tasting her. Hermione couldn’t even begin to describe the sensations she was feeling. No one else could ever compare to this.

It only took a few moments of his expert ministrations before Hermione could start to feel that tell-tale pressure start to build low in her abdomen. Never before had she experienced pleasure this quickly. “Severus,” She gasped, trying to push him away slightly, “I need you inside me, please!”

Severus smirked. Who was he to deny a lady? Especially one who begged so nicely. Without any further hesitation, he lined himself up and thrust into her. Filling her all the way to the hilt in one long, hard thrust. Hermione let out a long moan when he did, he filled her like no others had. Severus only paused for a moment to give her time to adjust before he started moving, creating a slow, tantalizing rhythm that drove them both crazy. It wasn’t long before Hermione needed more. “Severus, harder!” She gasped as he complied.

Snape could feel her walls start to flutter around him and knew she was close. He wasn’t far behind her. He reached between their bodies and placed his thumb against her little nub and rubbed it in time with his thrusts. In an instant she came apart beneath his body, writhing below him violently and seeing stars. He followed her two thrusts later, spilling into her willing body. He rolled off of her, not wanting to crush her with his weight. Hermione instant clung to him, nuzzling her head into his shoulder. “See Severus, I told you, it’s up to you to make your fantasy a reality.” She said quietly as her eyes closed, falling asleep. He couldn’t help but agree. Once again his little witch as an insufferable know-it-all, and for once he was extremely thankful of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that concludes One Minute! Hope you all enjoyed reading it. Let me know what you thought!


End file.
